


Retrieve

by oddball



Series: Chronicles of release [2]
Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Angst and Humor, Comfort/Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Growing Up, M/M, Winter Cup, learning from old mistakes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-14
Updated: 2014-05-14
Packaged: 2018-01-24 17:36:36
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 9,351
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1613555
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/oddball/pseuds/oddball
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It has been a while since the miracles left Teiko behind, but has Teiko left them behind? Have they finally realized what it is like to change? Kuroko Tetsuya finds himself in a predicament where he must question his past and his possible future, trying to understand if something once stolen, can be retrieved or whether it is lost for good...<br/>With his past endeavors lurking into his present, Kuroko see's that the only thing that finally matters is knowing that someone never gave up on you... or doesn't intend to.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [HeteroChromium](https://archiveofourown.org/users/HeteroChromium/gifts).



> This fic is dedicated to the lovely lovely SilverPhoenix9 who inspired me to write more :D I really hope she likes it and that I haven't disappointed her :) Thank you once again Silverphoenix9 for your lovely comments :D  
> This is a sequel to my previous fic titled 'steal' so, please do read that before this, so that some of the situations become clearer to you :)
> 
> (I mostly intend to write a next and final part 3, dealing with Akashi specifically, but that is dubious.. I don't know! )
> 
>  
> 
> Lastly, I really hope you'll enjoy this :)

_"loss?" Akashi whimpered._

_His eyes fixed on his trembling palm. His head in a sort of void that echoed words of the recent past but finally they began to sink in a place he had kept locked away for a while now- his heart. He didn't know this alien feeling. That trepidation in his heart he would mask with his absoluteness, was peeling away, a chaffing voice told him "You lost the one thing dear to you..."_

_Akashi's body swam in the sea of uncertainty and the jeering voices grew. He hadn't expected even in his clairvoyant prediction of behavior, that he would be the first one to disobey his own laws._

\---

(Days before the above event)

Kagami sat impatiently, his knees bouncing up and down in a fast harmonic rhythm, while gulping down his burgers. He grunted while biting into the third one as he heard a timid voice

"I'm right here, Kagami-kun"  the pale skinned, blue-eyed boy said.

Kagami startled, but gathered himself fast enough to retaliate, screaming that Kuroko was definitely not there and that him taking advantage of his lack of presence to show up late is pathetic and that weirdly enough, he was used to it already. He munched on the large amounts of food, before tilting his head a little and jabbing Kuroko with the end of his gatorade bottle. Kuroko glared at him in a blank look before the slightly irritant red-head said

"Why the hell do you look like that?"  

"Like what?" Kuroko replied.

"Like Aomine's ugly mug after he's done with his shitty ass catch phrase" Kagami belted

"Kagami-kun, you have a way with words" Kuroko said mildly moping.

"You haven't answered me" Kagami said, raising one of his bifurcated eyebrows, causing him to appear more stoic than he was.    

"This winter cup..." Kuroko trailed, avoiding Kagami's curious eyes.

"It's going to be fine. We'll give it all. And one by one, we'll make your harem of teletubbies realize that basketball isn't warfare. Truthfully, they're monsters, but we'll get by. So don't let the inter-high ghost haunt you. We're stronger and we can definitely make it to the top"

Kuroko smiled as he heard his less-proficient-with-words-partner be articulate. What made him smile more is the fact that he always used the pronoun "we". Seirin was the team he never had and so, the timely reminder never hurt.

"Thank you Kagami-kun for your somewhat encouraging words. I'm glad you're my partner" Kuroko said.

Kagami almost immediately blushed. He always found Kuroko's knack of saying these supremely cheesy lines with such panache, a very embarrassing yet admirable trait.

"Yeah, sure. Okay" he said blushing and offering his fist to the shorter boy. Kuroko smiled and bumped his fist.

\---

Kagami and Kuroko then parted ways and Kuroko began to pace back home. He looked at his watch which just struck 9:00. He envisaged a long walk back, drawing a sigh from him, which froze into a wisp of mist in the growing cold.  As he walked down the road, he clasped his hands in a knot and began to run down a nostalgic path. The conversation with Kagami made him wonder how evident his history with the miracles was. He passed by a large Japanese maple, much like the one he and Akashi had sat before everything went into disarray. He remembered seeing Ogiwara's broken face as he limped to see the final scores of the dreaded Teiko vs. Meiko match, only to feel Akashi's cold, lifeless, heterochromatic eyes glare at him from meters below. He didn't have to see them to know they were watching him, mocking his entire outlook to basketball, or so it felt.

That's when he decided to flee. To run miles away from the malice Teiko had become. His frail exterior was now no match for the tethers his interiors were in. That night, he had piled up all his basketball gear and decided to burn it down, for he never wanted to be that vulnerable and stupid again; that night was filled with utter darkness. He found the lighter he stole from Haizaki in order to prevent him from smoking. He felt it would be befitting of the situation, to watch the rotten plastics of that lighter melt under its own flames. Hoping that along with it, it would burn the scent of a man, he once had grown to love and with it, every other memorabilia of Teiko.   

It was then he stopped. His teal eyes grew larger and a revelation dawned upon his younger shoulders

"Haizaki-kun...he..." his hands shaking as the flame of the lighter fluttered. "Akashi-kun...Just like with Meiko..." he thought, shutting the lighter off. Akashi's behavior back then, Haizaki's coincidental departure, it began to make sense now.

Kuroko suddenly stood up and began to dig within the pile he was seconds away from burning. He picked up Ogiwara's wristband, swung it around his wrist and thought

"Akashi-kun, I won't let your basketball ruin anyone anymore..."

Often these words would resound in his head as he slapped the ball across to Kagami, or as he victoriously smacked the ball out of Midorima's hand during the inter-high, or even as he sobbed bitterly through their defeat in the hands of Touou, but each time he fell, he was buoyed back up by his team, so the loss never felt like one. It only felt like he was one step closer to telling Akashi what it meant to genuinely lose.

Of course he was no saint. His eyes were angry when he thought of Teiko and what Akashi had become in the process. Akashi, the man who single handedly, built him to break him.

 


	2. Of all the courts in Tokyo

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kuroko tries to run away from the mess that was Teiko. But fate thinks otherwise.

Today, when the embers possibly cooled, Kuroko's eyes felt a pain as they saw the maple leaves fall in the darkness. He felt Akashi was one of them. Refusing bend and fall gracefully, only to be picked up by the wind to soar, but rather stubbornly sitting still, still enough to break. The anger was slowly being replaced by a sorrow which he had felt earlier. The sorrow that took him to Haizaki's door step years ago. Kuroko involuntarily shook his head, almost saying no to going back.  Fate however, had other plans. Plans in the form of a loud commotion near the basketball court across the street.

Kuroko was drawn to it immediately (as Kagami would put it "for a shrimp like you, you love playing knight in shining armor") There he saw a bunch of teens picking on this one man who was currently shrouded in the shadows. He seemed to be swaying a lot, perhaps intoxicated. Kuroko nonetheless jumped right in and in his characteristic tone said

"Excuse me, will you'll stop ganging up on one person? It really is a shame" he said, chin pointed highly at a tall, lanky man, with a... golden tooth?

"What's your business here kid? Fuck off and mind your own" one of them snarled

Kuroko stood his ground and earned a growl again.

"If you're so hell bent on defending a drunk fucker..."

"All the more why it's a shame for you all to gang up on this guy" Kuroko said without looking at the man who was now on the floor, not wanting to turn his back to the goons.

This angered the lanky man and as he puckered up to throw a fist at Kuroko, a loud siren of the police car rang. The gang dropped the basketball, threw a couple of cusses at Kuroko and scampered. Two policemen ran towards the blue haired boy with torches in the dark

"Are you okay, kid?" they asked

"Yes, thank you" Kuroko politely replied.

"And the man on the ground? He looks like he's completely drunk and maybe received a blow or two"  they said throwing the torch-light at him.

Kuroko blocked the light with the back of his palm and cinched his eyes to look at the fallen man. His eyes grew significantly and his looked at him in confusion. The officers concluded on taking the man to the nearby station and waiting until he wakes up. Kuroko was mouthing words which the policemen altogether seemed to miss. He finally sighed before speaking pointedly loud

"It'll be alright sir. I'll take this man home. I know him"

\---

Haizaki opened his eyes to a ceiling he had seen before. He jumped up to sit and cursed the living daylights out, literally. The sun peered in as he panicked hearing a voice he wished he could've avoided all his life.

"Morning, Haizaki-kun" Kuroko said.

"Of all the fucking people, you had to be the one to bring me home"

"It's not like I stalked you down and found you picking up a fight in the night, drunk, with four times as many people as you could muster. Not to mention, I live here and you don't. So why are you here Haizaki-kun?"

"I needed a break from Shizuoka before the winter-cup. The fucking brats were tripping themselves over the cup. *pshh* like it makes fucking hell of a difference"

"I'd like to believe you, but I know that's not it"

"Stop being my shrink, Kuroko! And for once, put your nose in your own matters"

"I would love to, if you just told me why you were here"

"The fuck I would! And don't pretend to be a monk. You know it as much as I do, how much that red-haired bastard needs his face smashed to the floor!"

"Haizaki-kun, I'm the one who was betrayed the most. Yet..."

"So? Look, I'm not and neither do I intend to be as fucking angelic and godly as you do. That phase, wasn't me. When I tried to be something different, it fucked me over. I got thrown out and well, earned the wrath of all you rainbow-freaks. So take your obsessive need to fix people and fix, maybe yourself, okay?! Haizaki yelled,  before gathering his bag and storming out through the door.

Kuroko silently watched him leave, the hit from yesterday still making him walk slightly giddily, with a mild discomfort writhing below Kurko's skin. His eyebrows dipped before he said

"Haizaki-kun, everybody deserves and gets a second chance to retrieve what's been stolen"

Haizaki turned around, laughed, almost painfully, licked his thumb in a characteristic mockery and said

"Good then, I'll steal back my miracle title from one of those freaks"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> stupid bitter Haizaki and stupid in general Kuroko..


	3. Kiyoshi sensei's pearls.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kuroko wonders if he's barking up a wrong tree. Luckily for him, he has the ever bumbling, but ever cryptic Teppei Kiyoshi to advise him!  
> Also, Kuroko misses his light.

Kuroko touched the ball with the tip of his fingers, dribbling, pausing, before trying to take his unorthodox stance to shoot. His 'passed' the ball to the basket and sighed loudly as it bounced along the rim and bounced off to the side. He walked below the board and gathered it as it bounced alone.

"Trying something new, Kuroko?" a familiar, brotherly voice asked.

"Yes, Kiyoshi-san. Kagetora-san advised me to admit to the limits of my own abilities. I don't know if the drive will do alone. So I just randomly shot. But..." Kuroko said, trailing off, now just bouncing the ball with his palm.

"Feeling a little lost without Kagami, are we?" he said, benevolently, a smile creeping into his brown eyes.

The blue eyed boy held the ball and stopped in a suspended animation before sighing for the second time in a short duration, and eventually agreeing with Kiyoshi.

"I want to become a stronger partner to Kagami-kun" he finished

Kiyoshi walked under the net and asked Kuroko to pass. Kuroko threw a normal pass and Kiyoshi dunked it in gently. Then he threw the ball at Kuroko again and this time asked him to shoot. Kuroko, at first, looked puzzled, but threw it nonetheless. Not surprisingly, it danced around the rim and fell off. Kiyoshi, continuing his 'wise-acts-of-teaching', threw the ball back at Kuroko and asked him to hold it. Kiyoshi then ran to the basket and dunked an imaginary ball. By now Kuroko merely looked in sheer bewilderment at this man who wanted to make a point, one which seemed very elusive at this moment.

"In short, Kuroko" he finally spoke "you and Kagami, both need each other to shine. One without the other makes for empty baskets"

"I already know that Kiyoshi-san" Kuroko said, cocking his head to the side.

"Really? Oh well then, you're sorted!" he happily chimed.

Kuroko looked in a shock-and-awe sort of glance, much like a doe between headlights, before wondering if it was truly just him or if everyone agreed that Kiyoshi was no enigma, just seemed like one. He watched the taller man, skip along the court, before he turned towards Kuroko again and said

"Remember Kuroko, sometimes it's best to realize what you can change and what you can't and a lot of times, one person just isn't enough "

Kiyoshi waved his the back of his palm at Kuroko while walking away and smiling inwardly. Kuroko gazed intently at the dots on the ball in his hand and in a hypnotic tone, he reassured himself, that the miracles, ex or otherwise, belonged to the category he could change.  

 

\-----

It had become some sort of ritual in the life of the phantom man. He would arise, head for practice, spare a thought about Kagami and his mysterious teacher and send across a text to the hooligan ex-miracle. Tenacity being a quality many had known Kuroko to possess, he almost acted as if to publicize that trait, by repeatedly asking Haizaki to come and play ball with him sometimes. Much like the basketball idiot he was, Kuroko somewhere believed that basketball was a panacea, even for someone as crass as Haizaki. But Haizaki had sworn to never step into the unchartered area of 'camaraderie' with Kuroko or any of the miracles again; once bitten, twice shy. Though, there was nothing wrong in what Kuroko had said earlier about him being the only authorized one to play victim, Haizaki subconsciously avoided going down that path again, lest he or Kuroko should get singed again. Singed by the fire that is Akashi Seijuurou.  Haizaki learnt that it was better to be a pile of trash, than be in the crosshairs of his former captain. And as much as he admired Kuroko (the inverse to the amount he displayed or wanted to feel) he believed Kuroko not to be that much of an alchemist!  In his purview, Kuroko's true challenges were Haizaki and Akashi; the prey and the predator.

Kuroko's hand clicked the send for the fourth time this week to the same grey haired man, who according to Kuroko, had his brains  as mangled as his cornrows. With the day that grew into the night, so did Kuroko's impatience. He reached home after practice and checked his phone for the reply for the last time before giving up. He stared into his reflection and wondered, why in the world he was doing this for a man who cheated on him? Who used his trust and turned it into a tool to lodge into him? He wondered if it was because he figured that Akashi possibly had a hand in it. But he wasn't even sure. Was he expending his small quantum of precious post-practice energy on a vile creature not worth the effort? Also, where was this sudden doubt creeping in?

His brain was filled with so many unnecessary questions and doubts that he wasn't getting sleep. He looked out at the sky, recovering visions of how he would text Ogiwara in trying situations. Now his hand shook at the very mention of that name. The guilt was something he would take long to rid himself off.

Kuroko finally flipped on his laptop and furiously started typing. He typed and typed and typed, until his fingers were sore. He bit the end of his thumb while his other finger, perfectly poised over the 'send' button, stood still. He let out a large breath, did a quick calculation while glancing at his watch, stretched his hand and hit the button.  He stared at the monitor longingly for nearly an hour before he heard a short ping. He quickly clicked into his inbox and gasped in relief.

_"Kuroko,_

_Why the hell did you send me a page of your diary? That too, the longest page I think! When did you start being such a talkative little thing? And who the fuck is this 'guy' you're talking about? This rowdy fellow? Anyway, I'll have you fill me in properly once I'm back. For right now, do what you think is right. If you think this guy got played, then well, okay. But if he's like Hanamiya, then fuck him! Shit like that don't deserve it. Also, your mail makes me want to beat this Akashi even more, though everything I know about him can be summed up in a paragraph. Yeah I know I sound stupid, but I know you. I know you're not some ditzy teenager with the urge to save the day, kind of guy. You know when to stop. Like you did with Kirisaki Daichi So if you're confused, means you're already considering helping out. So go ahead. But do not do stupid shit! I repeat, no putting your nose where your scrawny self doesn't belong! Kise and I aren't going to be there to save you._

_I'll be back soon, training is killing, but it's amazing!_

_Kagami."_

Kuroko smiled slightly at his light's response. The simplicity of Kagami's functioning always allured him. He had at times thought, Kagami was too simple and maybe bordering stupid, but then again, Kagami could say the same about him. Kagami's mail however, jolted him to a name he felt obliged to inform-Kise Ryouta.

He had remembered how Kise and Aomine had stood up for him when they realized the twisted nature of the situation. He felt it would be the right thing to do to tell Kise that Haizaki had made his way into his life again, and well, much of that had to do with Kuroko's persistence and some with fate. He knew Kise's face would shrivel with guilt and worry, if he told him so. In front of others, Kise would possibly feign sadness over being rejected again! But Kuroko knew, behind that masquerade, Kise was holding guilt, regret and many more negative emotions which did not suit the handsome blonde one bit! And so he concluded, telling Kise would probably work out more adversely than favorably. He withdrew his hand from the phone button and nearly put it away, when he felt a vibration in his palm. He snapped upon the clam-phone and read his message.

"Meet me tomorrow. 9 pm. Same court as the one I passed out on- Haizaki"

Kuroko's eyes lit up in the dark, bouncing the sterile light of the phone. He would wait for tomorrow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I always feel that Teppei is far more brooding than he shows. He never really openly discloses his beliefs. And a big sorry for all the KagaKuro shippers. Lately Ive found them to be more really good friends than anything. It has a lot to do with that other red-head. Damn you, Sei-chan!


	4. Sometimes its best to disbelief in the goodness of humanity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kuroko learns about the phrase- once bitten twice shy, in a literal sort of manner.

_Thud_

"Hai...za.." a bifurcated word spilled between his lips, before the world before his eyes blurred a little.

"tough love kid" he heard a rather growly and resounding voice say as an impressionist version of the corn-rowed small forward, bounced before his eyes before his chin finally hit the hard concrete floor of the outside court.

"Hey look! that boy fell down!"

"someone catch that weirdo that just went by!"

"forget him! Who is this boy?"

\---

"Kurokocchi! Finally!"

The blue eyed boy awoke with a rather heavy sensation on his chest. If not for the indelible and unmistakable sounds of a rather annoying blonde, Kuroko would've assumed he was hit by a meteor or something.

"Kise-kun? Where am I.."

"Kurokocchi was lying on the floor of a court! I got this sudden message from an unknown number saying something had happened to you! I thought someone played a prank me, because people always do..and.. ouch!" Kise yelled as a hand came flying at his cheek.

"The boy just woke up after a hit to the plexus! Your extremely long story isn't exactly what he wants to hear right away!" Kasamatsu yelled.

"Kasamatsu-san, could you tell me how I got here" Kuroko asked ignoring the wailing blonde.

"For starters you're in the hospital. You got hit. About how this happened, well, to be honest, we don't know. Kise got that message and he panicked and ran about like a headless chicken. So I accompanied him. We were in Tokyo anyway. And yeah, Aomine received the message too. Apparently from the same number. He's filling in the paperwork" Kasamatsu replied

"You were knocked out cold Tetsu" a known, cold voice said. Kise immediately tensed slightly, as he heard the drone of the voice of a man who brought about a range of feelings in him. Kasamatsu noticed this and dragged Kise out in humour pulling his ear, Kise not resisting too much.

"So you know how this happened? Or you don't recollect?"

Kuroko could remember as clear as the day.

_Kuroko could see the man poised below a tree, one leg pressed against the bark and the other resting on the heel. His hands in his sweatshirt and eyes fixated on the dancing silhouette of a thousand leaves. Kuroko walked towards him and noticed the scowling man turn his gaze to him._

_"You want to save me don't you? You want to bring love back into my life, don't you? You feel I've been wronged don't you?" Haizaki said walking towards the shorter man, both now beneath the shade of a tree._

_Kuroko nodded. Haizaki bit the tip of his nail, chewed on the edge of his fingers, before bursting into a grin. Kuroko tilted his chin up in disorientation, unsure of what was so amusing. Haizaki, lifted him in a swift motion, pinned him against the tree and said in a insensitive whisper "then let's take it from where we left"_

_He stung into Kuroko's lips and kissed him with an inexplicable force. His hands running through the teal hair like a manic lion on a prey, clenching, feeling, biting, as though venting the plethora of emotions he felt. Kuroko, suddenly gasping, broke free, his pupils widened to an elastic state and his breath shaking._

_"Haizaki-kun...what did you..."_

_Haizaki came within an inch of his face, his lips near his ear, forcing Kuroko back against the tree. He sniggered and said "So you meant basketball love? What a pity. Listen kid, sometimes, you gotta learn to back off and if you still feel I haven't hurt you enough for you to give up on me, then..."_

_Kuroko's eyes stretched. His throat let out a coarse gasp and his lungs felt like a stone was crushing it. Kuroko fell to his knee. Haizaki began to walk away as Kuroko seeped into his punch. He could see from the corner of his eye Kuroko's trembling hand in confusion. He looked away and drafted a message to two people. He knew he hadn't hit the boy hard enough but just hard enough. He wanted Kuroko away from him on a mortal level for the fear of Akashi, of course. But also because he didn't believe he was worth the trouble of saving anyway._

"No I can't seem to remember" Kuroko lied

"It's okay. As long as nothing happened to you. Kise said he would take you home, so I'm going to head. You need anything you call either of us okay?" Aomine instructed before leaving.

He walked out as he eyed an hyper-Kise, who was continuously getting admonished for behaving like an idiot in a hospital. Aomine began to walk away before he turned and called out

"Kise..." he said with a reluctant pause.

Kise shot a quick glance at Kasamatsu, who nodded in understanding and walked towards Kuroko's enclosure.

"If you need anything with regard to Tetsu, call me" he said, shuffling his legs, while his loose tie swung around aimlessly.

"Sure Aominecchi" Kise replied with a subtle smile.

"Still adding the cchi? I thought you gave up on admiring me?" Aomine sputtered then questioned if this awkward version of small talk was purely reserved for Kise, because social skills often escaped the tanned ace

Kise laughed almost heartily before he flicked his hair innocently and said

"I did. But it doesn't mean I don't respect or love you. It's okay Aominecchi. I didn't get these things either. Spending time with Kasamatsu senpai and Kaijou, taught me a lot. So...I guess see you at the winter cup?" Kise smiled as he shuffled the back of his head.

"Yeah" Aomine nodded, wanting to say something else, but deciding against it.

"And Aominecchi...It's okay. I wouldn't have been able to take it if you actually gave your hand" Kise said reading his thoughts.

Aomine waved his hand continuing to walk like Kise's words didn't surprise him. But all he did that for was to conceal the smile he had on his face, in the shadows of his dipped head.

Kasamatsu walked out of the curtains and told Kise they were good to go. As they rode back, with a sleeping Kuroko behind, Kise explained how it isn't surprising that Kuroko hurt himself as he had this habit of trying to dismantle fights. Kasamatsu nodded, his hands clasped. And after a decent silent, five minutes asked

"So what did that Touou ace want to talk to you about?"

Kise giggled softly, not wanting to wake Kuroko up with his cacophony "Senpai is worried about me!" he exclaimed softly

"You absolutely are an idiot!" Kasamatsu frowned, first born profounder of tough love.

Kasamatsu didn't prod further out of sheer irritation, but the pleasant smile on his kouhai's face indicated to him that Kise was doing fine.


	5. Before the winter cup

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kagami and Kuroko learn first hand what it is like to challenge the 'loving' authority of Akashi

Days flew by after that incident and Kuroko's will had already drifted. He couldn't for the life of him figure the relevance of that kiss if it was followed by a sock to his solar plexus. But the opening ceremony to the winter cup was hardly any time or place to be wondering about that. So Kuroko forced himself to bother about more pressing concerns like- where in the world was Kagami Taiga?

Riko frowned and her temper rose with the intensity of a steam locomotive, bursting at her seams with anger. Kuroko too hoped that Kagami had the brains to understand time-difference. Suddenly his phone beeped and his eyes shot into a frenzy when he read the message.

"I'm sorry coach, I must go. Akashi-kun has summoned us all" Kuroko said softly.

The team immediately ceded once they heard that name. It drew fear out of most individuals, not Kuroko though. For Kuroko it was this disgusting mixture of anger, pity, respect, love and whatnot. Kuroko himself found his head unable to discern what Akashi spelled to him.

As he walked to the point of meeting, Kuroko saw from a distance the rainbow haired bunch all perched at different positions. His teammate, who had chaperoned him there, was trembling under the weight of these monstrous energies. As they grumbled and complained about Akashi's fashionably late approach, Kuroko stood still, wondering if he could confirm the malice he had accused Akashi of.

"I'm sorry to keep you all waiting" a voice said, steady and polite.

They turned to catch sight of the red-haired former captain of the most feared bunch of basketballers, the leader of that squad, known for their ruthless decimation, the personification of a cruel yet polite absolution, Akashi Seijuurou.

"I see you all are here, but I wish only to speak to my comrades now. Can you leave?" he said looking at Furihata. Furihata would've obliged  even if he was deaf, but his feet were glued to the floor under the heavy presence exerted by these five individuals.

"Don't be a party pooper, Akashi" said a boisterous voice, with a noticeable American accent.

"Kagami isn't it? Tetsuya's new light. Ace of Seirin. Pleasure to meet you. I see you intend on taking me down?"  he said softly, while walking down the stairs as Furihata and Kuroko greeted the ace of their team, albeit in contained enthusiasm.

"Shintarou, spare me those scissors please. My hair is troubling me" Akashi said, as Midorima handed him a pair of red scissors stoically.

Akashi began to nonchalantly cut his hair, as the rest of them grew impatient at his random acts  of grooming. He had just about finished, as he admired the blade in his hand, before he shot it like a spear at Seirin's tall ace, who gasped in shock! Everyone else twitched their eyebrows in momentary shock, before resigning to acknowledge Akashi's predisposition to being psychotic.

"Know your place Kagami Taiga. I have known to dispose off in anyone in my tracks, who pose as obstacles to my absolution. I know what I desire and if you or anyone tries to meddle in that, I will not have it. Note that today you were lucky to dodge it, next time Tetsuya will be obliged to hunt for yet another light" he said in a frighteningly dulcet voice.

"Tetsuya, I'm glad you came. I need you to see once and for all, the folly of your choices" Akashi said facing Kuroko, while pacing to leave.

Aomine growled at the pointlessness of the affair but Akashi assured him that he achieved what he desired. An unspoken animosity grew between the two red-hairs, in a strange spine-chilling acceptance that there in fact wasn't enough space for two reds in a rainbow.  


	6. The winter cup

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The winter cup it is.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I haven't gone into the details of the matches, since i wanted to focus more on the repercussions the matches have.   
> I've tried to use dialogues, stray random ones, to convey the gist of the match.   
> I hope it isnt tough to understand or anything!   
> Hope you'll enjoy this!

_"Come on Seirin! Otherwise nothing would've changed since then!" (Kise)_

_"Going into overtime is going to be suicide! No, we have to finish this with the buzzer" (Kiyoshi)_

_"And with that astonishing midair battle followed by a powerful dunk by the ace of Seirin, together we have witnessed audience, something that defied all odds...Touou academy has been humbled by one point!" (commentary)_

_"Aomine-kun, we didn't bump our fists back then"_

_"Sigh. Here you go.... And Tetsu...We'll play again"_

_\---_

_"Here we are ladies and gentlemen, in the final quarter of the quarter finals of mammoth proportions! Yosen high facing off Seirin high! And from the looks of it, the match is as neck-and-neck as Seirin's first round against Touou!"_

_"I give up. There's no point. I can't stop Kuro-chin's shot" (Atsushi)_

_"You have any idea what I would do to be in your position!!! What I would not do to be so talented! So gifted and yet here you are wasting it all! If that one punch didn't do the trick, I'd do it again and again Atsushi until you realised what you have and what I can never" (himuro)_

_"Muro-chin, you're annoying when you get all fired up. *sigh* fine I'll play" (Atsushi)_

_"Who are you? The Kagamicchi we played in the practice match was way scarier. Not relying on any tricks. So I'll play Murasakibaracchi after all!" (KIse)_

_"My...legs...they won't budge...I want to throw the stupid ball! Muro-chin has his faith in me. Everyone..even granny...why cant I..." (Atsushi)_

_"I knew you'd come back Murasakibara-kun. No matter how much you deny it, you don't hate basketball. But today, we win!" (Kuroko)_

\---

Kuroko's head was giddily lying on the bench of the locker-room. His world spinning a ecstatic delirium; part exhaustion, part just bloody happy. The events of the winter-cup were swimming in his head in blurred vision. He couldn't have predicted the sight of Murasakibara crying in his wildest imagination, neither could he dismiss the thin sliver of the old Aomine he felt in that fist bump. The two to break first in Teiko, were the ones experiencing something new right before his eyes. His excitement was contained but easily growing. He knew he couldn't have done it without his team, specially the sudden-american who had just jostled out of the room to reconcile with Himuro. His own story with Aomine, made Kagami realise that real losing comes when you severe bonds with the ones who brought you into this world of basketball. For Kagami, Himuro was that bond. Kuroko smiled staring at the cooler that spat out air parsimoniously. He was left alone for a while by Seirin to sleep because they had exhausted turns in carrying him on their shoulders.

He was almost about to get up when heard a placid command

"Tetsuya, stay"

Kuroko turned in a slow jerk, as his eyebrows adorned a slight frown.

"Akashi-kun, what do you want this time?"

"You, Tetsuya"


	7. The miraculous gathering

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aomine just doesn't understand the fuss. And Haizaki finally has an epiphany.

Kagami rushed out to meet and reconcile with Himuro and possibly let Alex have her ten seconds of happiness where she "cuddled with her boys". He was grinning his ape-ish  grin before he stumbled upon a rather unpleasant scene.

"Put her down you ugly-face!" he yelled, leaping towards a disheveled man, within whose grasp Alex was dangling, furiously kicking, while Himuro was shielding his bleeding forehead.

Haizaki turned to look at Kagami, dropped Alex aside and sniggered.

"If it isn't the new brat from Seirin. Kuroko's friend, aren't you?"

"Who the fuck are you, you bastard!" Kagami yelled, running towards him with a punch ready, when a known hand held his fist.

"Kagamicchi, don't ruin your winter cup chances over this guy" Kise said sternly but politely.

Kagami wanted to break loose from Kise's grip, but he couldn't. Kagami stood still, never having seen Kise so solemn before.

"Well, well, if it isn't my favorite runt of all times" Haizaki growled.

"Haizaki, why don't you stop beating around the bush and aim at the one you really want to harm" Kise said steadily.

"For the shit you put me through, smashing your oh-so pretty face would make me fall in love, oops, lust with you all over again, Ryouta" Haizaki spat.

"Go ahead" Kise retorted calmly.

Haizaki stomped towards him with anger in his stride, when he saw another shadow approach Kise's back.

"You never learn, don't you, you shit-head" the tanned ace of Touou growled.

"Oi, Ryouta, you never told me you got your boyfriend along?" Haizaki spewed.

"Boyfriend, boyfriend's captain , his own captain and well, some extras" a syrupy voice added, one which Haizaki hadn't heard of.

Kise and Aomine turned to notice Kasamatsu, Imayoshi, Okamura and their respective teams behind.

"I leave you alone for two minutes and you start off a civil war. Kise!"Kasamatsu yelled

"Aiye, it's okay Kasamatsu, these boys must have cart loads of adrenaline even after the game. Just triple training hence forth" Imayoshi grinned "and you, I think you should leave. I can't let you mess around with my truanting ace, can I?" he said looking at Haizaki

"What's your problem anyway?" Okamura muttered, running out of patience

"I want to steal one of their titles' of miracle. Most likely from pretty boy here" Haizaki replied in a nasty tone, eyeing Kise at the corner of his eye

"Miracle? I'm afraid you've been living under a rock, son. This lump here, is Touou's ace now. He used to be miracle. Now he's a scientific miracle, since someone this stupid shouldn't exist" Imayoshi laughed as he put his hand lovingly around Aomine, causing Aomine to burst into rants.

"And if you have a bone to pick with Kise, you have a bone to pick with Kaijo. He's the founding idiot of the _moron's of Kaijou club_ " Kasamatsu yelled, instinctively warding Kise off, knowing he would glomp him over the veiled protective comment.

"I don't even know why the hell I'm here, but beat it kid. We speak the language of ball. Beat Kaijou on court, if that's your issue. Otherwise, get the hell out" Okamura stomped.

Haizaki looked in an amazement. He was shocked. He couldn't imagine those monsters of Teiko having people to call of their own. People who stood up for them, defended them, jested with them and treated them like members of a team and not idols of worship. He kept backing until he could only see silhouettes of that large group, bickering among themselves in a joyful manner. He felt out-placed and out-numbered. He began to run as he heard a voice

"Haizaki-kun" a teal haired boy yelled from a distance.

Haizaki couldn't bear to look at the owner of that voice, all he knew was if he wanted to say "this is what I meant or I told you so" he didn't want to hear it. But he heard what the voice said anyway

"There's nothing left for you to steal, Haizaki-kun"

 

"Kurokocchi! We'll be playing you soon!" Kise hugged him tightly. Kuroko broke free, irritated, but also excited at the prospect of playing his trainee from Teiko, again.

"You must defeat Haizaki-kun before that Kise-kun. Must. For old time's sake..." he said particularly quietly.

Kise smiled as he nodded in a silent promise.

"You didn't have to make a such a one-piece appearance you know. It was one guy" Aomine said in a plastic drone.

"Really? We were just worried since you have the mental capacity of a three year old and Kaijou because they didn't want to be kicked out of the tournament because of a dumb brawl" Imayoshi said in dripping sarcasm.

"Boyfriend, hunh?" Moriyama teased, drifting to a totally different tangent.

Aomine's face turned into a weird red and Kise laughed. Moriyama continued on how if that was true, he'd be delighted as the girls would then have eyes only for Moriyama. Kasamatsu simply sighed as Imayoshi pretend fussed over Aomine a little more.

"Hehe..No not yet. But you never know, Moriyama senpai" Kise teased

Imayoshi burst out laughing as Aomine nearly jumped Kise over that comment. Kise laughed loudly, as Kuroko smiled only to be interrupted by a strong hand.

"That asshole, Haizaki...wasn't he the one you spoke about in the mail?" Kagami asked perceptively.

Kuroko nodded in an apologetic way.

"I don't know what you think, but I think its best you leave him to his own devices. But if you still insist, call in for reinforcement. Like this miraculous scene right here" Kagami smirked

Kuroko nodded, spacing out, Kagami knowing the gears of his mind were already in motion.


	8. Break em then join em

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> On one hand Haizaki wallows in self pity, on the other hand Kise walks away with everything

Kaijou beat Fukuda in their quarter final match and Haizaki, enveloped in anger and confusion waited, hoping to settle matters with Kise outside. He stood, arms crossed when a palm placed itself on his shoulder.

"So you're the emergency" the voice said.

Haizaki turned and was standing before someone he didn't expect to see at all.

"Get out" Haizaki yelled.

"I know what's happening here and I'm not letting you do this, you stupid brat"

"Make me" Haizaki responded.

No sooner did he say that, than a resounding punch landed on his jaw. He was then gathered by the seams of his collar and joisted up as he heard the man say

"Look you stupid piece of self pitying, self- loathing, shit. I wasn't your captain for nothing. If nothing, I know you all well. Very well. You had as much talent as the others. So what if they kicked you out?"

"Don't pretend like you know anything, Nijimura!" he yelled into Nijimura's face.

Another harder punch came flying at him and Haizaki fell.

Nijimura crouched to the floor, resting on the tips of his toes, one hand on his knee, the other grabbing Haizaki's hair.

"I know enough to say this- so what if you were wronged? Does it give you the right to spew venom, on and on? You're still playing ball you brat! What would you know of true loss? What would you know of watching your juniors leap over you? The pain you face knowing you may never be as good! You got played, but so did that shrimp, Kuroko. He made it work, while you are still fucking sour! Pick yourself up and quit the loathe! Quit the fear! If you wanted to show Akashi that he wronged you, picking a fight with Kise is no answer. Get a grip, Shogo. Change while there's still time. Or you'll end up like me, bitter with no scope of return" Nijimura finished, leaving the hand that was in a tight fist.

Haizaki and Nijimura both sat, sown in silence, before Haizaki said

"He put you up to this, didn't he?"

"Yeah he said it was an emergency only I could handle. He realised he can't do some things alone, but that it didn't mean those things were impossible" Nijimura solemnly said.

Haizaki stared at the floor long enough, before tears began to roll down his cheeks. His body shook in some strange relief, the anger seeping out slowly, the hate of so many years finally losing to relentlessness. "I'm...so.."

Nijimura put his hand on the ex-miracles' head and said with no softness whatsoever "Just be grateful you had someone who didn't give up on you no matter what a douche you were"

Haizaki nodded, as the dark sky filled around the senpai-kouhai pair, a sense of strange tranquility. The tough love Haizaki always spoke off, perhaps worked on him too.

That night, before he slept, Haizaki sent a small message to Kuroko

"Thanks"

\---

Kaijou, post their contained celebrations over their win against Fukuda, resigned early for the day, gearing up for their match against Seirin. Kise decided to stay back for a while to deal with Haizaki once and for all. He of course, didn't reveal his intentions to his 'abusive' captain, but Kasamatsu had said before leaving the ace in the locker-room, that he trusted Kise to do the right thing. The blonde ace, carefully peeled his shoe off, inspecting the growing swelling at his ankle. He really wanted to kick Haizaki in the shin with the same foot, but he remembered an evening much like this one, where his loneliness in the locker-room was intercepted by another.

"Forget it" a voice Kise knew all too well, said blocking the harsh rays of the strobe-light from entering.

"Kurokocchi thinks I need a baby-sitter, doesn't he?" Kise chuckled as the darker ace came to sit beside him. Aomine put his around Kise's ankle and turned it while flexing his foot. Kise almost let out a scream but held it back, to prevent Aomine from gaining another reason why he shouldn't leave the locker yet.

"Don't try to hide it. I know how much it hurts already" he scowled in an almost motherly tone.

Kise let a sigh and withdrew his face into a slump

"Aominecchi, after what we did to him at Teiko, don't you think if we just finish this once and for all..."

"We did it for Tetsu. We did it because that idiot was a douche. So don't become all martyr and ruin your chance of having the match of a lifetime with Tetsu tomorrow. Plus, Tetsu said he has someone to take care of that moron"

Kise smiled and whispered a silent thank you. He tried to hoist himself off the bench, but his face contracted in pain. The impact was still fresh. Aomine sighed a little before putting his hand around the blond and helping him up.

"Don't worry, I'm not hurting your pride or anything. It's just...I can't see you struggle so much. So be still and don't fight" he directed

Kise smiled, even chuckled a bit as the duo hobbled along towards the gate.

After what seemed like a long journey to the exit gate, Aomine broke the silence of the evening with much apprehension

"Earlier...you..ummm..said not yet, when your senpai said boyfriends...you..ummm"

Kise paused, seeking help of the abutment nearby, laughed happily, as Aomine strangely looked at him, with what-is-so-fucking-funny and you-realise-how-hard-that-was-for-me written all over his face.

"In a hurry, are we, Aominecchi?" Kise teased in his characteristic tone

Aomine growled and bonked the blonde for teasing him over his best efforts to articulate his slightly sorted yet confused feelings.

"Aominecchi and his confusion. *sigh* wears even the likes of me down" Kise mocked. "tell you what, tell me what you feel"

Kise extended himself by a little, tilted his head and lightly kissed Aomine, taking the blue-hair by surprise. But when he realised, that Aomine was not resisting, he leaned in a little further and intensified it just by a tad. He then parted slowly, looked at Aomine with his hypnotic smile, beaming through his cheeks, before asking

"So, did you feel something?"

Aomine stood still for a moment, trying in his head to rationalize the feeling he was feeling. Giving up, he grabbed the blonde's neck and kissed him with a revised force and a surety he only part felt all this while.  He broke free, while his hands cradled the blonde's head and ruffled his hair as he said

"That answers you question?"

Kise's smile brightened as he whispered

"let's leave later for after the match with Kurokocchi, ne? I already have a swollen foot. Exhaustion due to a certain other ace, wouldn't be a pretty sight" he laughed

Aomine slapped his head again as he put his arm around his shoulder and continued to walk, alongside his rival, friend and possibly, lover.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nijimura felt like the only person who could slap sense into Haizaki. Sometimes it needs more than Kuroko's gentle touch to get through to you.


	9. Words and only words...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akashi and Kuroko's little tete-e-tete

Kuroko recollected the strangeness of the day's events. The strangest by far being the conversation he had with Akashi.

_"Akashi-kun, what do you want this time?"_

_"You, Tetsuya"_

_"Akashi-kun, I don't understand..."_

_"shield yourself from the pain of defeat Tetsuya. Give up this fight and understand my absoluteness"_

_"Akashi-kun, I'm not afraid of losing"_

_"Those are just words, Tetsuya. You and I both know what loss did to your friend Ogiwara and momentarily, you wished to walk the same path. Loss is crushing, loss is lonely, loss is a feeling of uncertainty" Akashi said as he walked closer to Kuroko only centimeters from his face._

_"Tell me Tetsuya, how long before you realise I'm the only one who knows you and that your basketball is merely a childish attempt"_

_"As long as it takes me to make you see that your victory is no victory"_

_"Just words again, Tetsuya?"_

_"No Akashi-kun. I'm not trying to be naive or prophetic, but someday when you look back and see, even in loss, if there's something to prop you back up, that's what is worth fighting for. But if in victory, you find yourself alone, what victory is that?"_

_Akashi looked longingly into his eyes, like a painter at his creation, marveling this growth. He ruffled Kuroko's hair slightly before saying steadfastly_

_"We will see the weight of these words once I decimate you. If I can decimate everything that tried to defy me, you're no different Tetsuya"_

_"You won't decimate me Akashi-kun. But I want you to know, even in the depths of your despair, I'll be waiting to see the Akashi-kun who made me the phantom sixth, return. I'll wait for the day you can play without fear. And I'll wait out of selfishness, because you're right, you are the only one who knows me. And I, you"_


	10. A win like none other

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akashi is left alone, with his victory

_"Once I will have abandoned you all, then shall I enter the zone"_

The crushing words of Akashi Seijuurou resonated in the faces of the pale uncrowned generals as the last whistle for the game end blew.

Kagami's exhaustion was finally visible. Kuroko's body trembling as they looked up at the score board-

                Rakuzan- 100                     Seirin- 92

Team Seirin paused in their tracks for a moment and time seemed to stand still. Izuki's eyes paled, Kiyoshi bent, Kagami and Kuroko both gritting their teeth. Hyuuga walked up to them and said

"None of you will spill one tear. For the sake of every last bit of energy we put, for the sake of Kagami's exhaustive zone, Kiyoshi's stupid and selfless play, Kuroko's insistence to play despite somewhere knowing that his key element was on the verge of disappearance and for the sake of everyone of those people who faced defeat in the hands of the Teiko's miracles, we cannot cry. We stand up and bow for a good game, brother's in arms, but we do not cry"

Hearing this, Seirin stood up in a line, Izuki facing Hayama, Nebuya facing Kiyoshi, Hyuuga facing Mibuchi, Kagami facing Akashi and Mayuzumi facing Kuroko.

"thank you for a good game!" Seirin said loudly, overpowering the sounds of the other team.

The audience stood and began to applaud both teams. What a display of basketball it had been.

"Who won?! who won?!" a girl asked having stepped out for a while

"Rakuzan" the boy replied

"Then why do their players look so slumped and beat?" she asked

"I dunno, but you're right. Everyone but number 4" he replied

Kise's eyes began to pool as he clapped, but Kasamatsu forbade him from crying for Serin, while they weren't. Momoi began to cry as Aomine hushed her uttering words even he never expected to say

"It's okay. It's not all over. It never is."

\--

Akashi headed to the locker-room, in a robotic motion, alone. He didn't seem to care, his team had let him down anyway. After a good twenty minutes, the uncrowned generals walked in, with Mayuzumi trailing at the back lifelessly.

"Sei-chan...we...have to say something" Mibuchi spoke up, his voice cracking.

"We...are going to ask the coach to replace us" Hayama said shaking.

"If we put you in a position where you had to abandon us and only you made us win, we must be not worth being in Rakuzan" Mibuchi continued.

Akashi's eyes seemed to display no emotion, while his body too, remained still.

"We thought we were good enough, but maybe we aren't. Maybe if you find a better team you'll never have to go into that state again. I mean its powerful, but even we can see, it's not a state you like being in" Hayama said, almost tearing up.

"If that's what you all desire, so be it" Akashi said without flinching. The uncrowned generals, unable to reconcile with this state left the room. They were in a strange predicament, where they had won, but in exchange, they lost their spirit. They felt worthless after seeing that Akashi's trigger was their uselessness.

Akashi looked up to see Mayuzumi still standing. He looked into the pseudo-phantom's dead eyes before he asked him why he remained.

"Before I quit, I want to ask you something" he said, gravely.

Akashi motioned him to speak

"Why did you model me after Kuroko?" he asked with tears finally streaming down his cheeks

"Why did you make me something like that! What made you think that there would ever be a person who would sacrifice himself for the love of basketball, in Rakuzan, with you as a captain?! I'd give my all for this game if I knew that I sacrificed myself for a cause, for a thought, for a spirit. Do we have any of those at Rakuzan? We fucking won! But here we are, team-less, nobody can even enjoy the victory we won. Not even you Akashi! Cause guess what? The so-called tem you led, quit. You crushed your own team to win. You made them quit. You know what that makes you? A failed captain!"

Akashi remained quiet, almost as if waiting for Mayuzumi to finish, got up and softly said

"I tried to model you into another Tetsuya, because he's the one thing that can defeat me. Technique wise, his unpredictability works against my emperor eye. Having your weakness in your own arsenal works"

"To expect someone to always be in the shadows is too much. I wonder how he does it. Anyway, I quit. I can't play anymore" he said wiping his tears, leaving. As he approached the door, he turned one last time to say

"I'm sorry I couldn't make Rakuzan win, captain. But somehow, I'd rather lose at Seirin than win at Rakuzan. Atleast Kuroko walked out with his team, arm-to-arm"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To me Akashi is very human. Possibly the most so. I tried to interpret how his state would be even if he won and lost something else in the bargain.  
> Coz skill wise, Rakuzan cannot be beaten by Seirin.  
> I really really hope this somewhat works.  
> I feel like I've taken a huge gamble here *bites nails in worry*
> 
> Hope you'll enjoy this!


	11. someone worth waiting for

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akashi's inner demons surface as the absolute him and the humane him battle it out. In the bargain, Akashi loses his mind. The greatest loss. But then again..

Akashi sat silently, the words of so many people weighing him down in the last few moments. His fingers laced within each other and his chin resting on them.

"A failed...captain?" a voice said

"Nonsense! Ignore these stupid words. You won. You are absolute" another voice said

"Won what? You lost your team, you lost Kuroko, you don't even know what this feeling is" the former voice repeated

"This is the feeling of being undefeated. It gets lonely at the top. So what? Who needs people?" the second voice shot out

"If you didn't mind being lonely at the top, why try to prove to Kuroko that his basketball is just a dream? Why not simply bask in glorious victory? Or is this victory a mere leftover of the large collateral in the bargain?" the first voice resounded.

Akashi held his head, the source of this conflicting voices and begged them to stop.

"Loss? " Akashi whimpered.

His eyes fixed on his trembling palm. His head in a sort of void that echoed words of the recent past but finally they began to sink in a place he had kept locked away for a while now- his heart. He didn't know this alien feeling. That trepidation in his heart he would mask with his absoluteness, was peeling away, a chaffing voice told him "You lost the one thing dear to you..."

Akashi's body swam in the sea of uncertainty and the jeering voices grew. He hadn't expected even in his clairvoyant prediction of behavior, that he would be the first one to disobey his own laws.

This victory didn't feel like one. The conversation he had with Kuroko resounded inside his head, as the battle grew. He had never known this state of complexity where he would be forced to question why he wasn't feeling the natural feeling of victory he always knew.

Akashi bolted out of the locker room, his hands on his temples forcing them to stop his inner turmoil. He had shut his eyes to focus these 'people' out of him but the clamoring sounds of confusion kept growing. He was going crazy in fits of uncertainty as he felt a soft touch on his shoulder.

"Akashi-kun..."

"Tet..suya..." he blurted. "Why are you..."

"Like I said Akashi-kun, I'd be there" Kuroko said. As he held Akashi's shoulders, his entire body shivered in tears. The sorrow he held all poured before the man he wanted to change the most.

"I wanted to win, Akashi-kun. So much.. to bring you back. So that you could be free of the fear of losing and play unchained" Kuroko said through his sobs.

Akashi, stared at Kuroko in bewilderment and unable to sustain the onslaught from the voices in his head, collapsed into himself, sitting on the raw floor, as Kuroko sat down too, beside him, barely holding his own.

"Tetsuya, I don't know anymore. I feel like I've won an empty accolade. The win has made me lose my mind...how does one win back that?" Akashi trembled. "I feel uncertain in victory. Far from absolute. Why do I feel this way?"

The duo silently sat in the flickering silhouettes of an empty stadium, covering them, like a bivouac for the wounded in a battle. After a long silence, filled with grimace of an unknown nature, words finally cut the unbearable tension.

"Akashi-kun, teach me how to win and I'll teach you what it is to really win "  Kuroko said finally peeling away from the but once vulnerable Akashi.

"We'll grow..together, Tetsuya" Akashi said, having somewhat understood the verses between the lines.

"Yes. One step at a time. And finally, I will beat you and release you, Akashi-kun. Then we will be together for as long as we can move our limbs and play basketball"

Akashi smiled and quickly regained himself. He then proceeded to bring his team back  and Kuroko left to join Seirin at Kagami's house, where they would bawl away the night. Akashi now would wait for the day he would lose, in entirety. And then in the loss, win the one person he longed for.

Someone had once said, ultimately, all that mattered was that there was some idiot who didn't give up on you, no matter how much of a douche you were.

Akashi left learning that and Kuroko left earning that.

\--

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's it for now! Hope you'll enjoyed this :)
> 
> Thanks again! :)


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